Belgrade’s Boat Parade
Who knows for sure exactly what year the Annual Belgrade Boat Parade started? I really do not know, but can vouch for 1996 as a contender. That year my wife Doris, dog Oreo, and I entered our craft. Built by Harold Webster, it was made of cedar planks covered with fiberglass cloth, powered by two antique outboards.
It was shaky going for us, as neither of the two outboards would pump water and stay cooled, so we alternated as needed when one gave up the ghost. Doris bailed steadily as I tinkered the old motors, and Oreo stood proudly on the deck.
After finally getting into Mill Stream and back out, we headed straight for the landing where our pals Ralph Pope and Jim Sawyer were standing by with a truck and trailer. We drove the water laden-boat right onto the semi-submerged trailer and hauled it for the last time in history. That night at dusk in the field at Woodland Camps, we removed the motors and retired them, politely saluted boat builder Harold Webster, and then tossed the boat into the bonfire.
Thar’ she blows! Fortunately, there are a few of these jewels that were cared for and or restored, that still appear from time to time on the Belgrade Chain of Lakes. Three of our residents that I know of have these glass-over-cedar relics today: Bill Redlevski, Frank and Kim Haggan, and the Fuller family at Camp Markland. Harold built at least one boat each winter in his celler, where Ernie Merkens lives now. His son David often helped and may have built a few himself after Harold’s passing
Rod Johnson, a.k.a. “The Luckiest Boy,” sits on the board of directors for the Belgrade Historical Society.
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